Accessories Cleaning the crook on a second hand sax

Yey!

All that whining finally paid off and I got my sax today.😀 image attached.
Its a Weltklang don't know the age yet (60s?) (serial No 9177) with a lovely warm sound - a bit dark (like me). I managed 20 mins before all I could get was the sound of air escaping (from my mouth I hasten to add!).

I have a Selmer S90 mouthpiece currently soaking in warm soapy water - but there is a funny smell coming from the crook - can anyone tell me the best way to clean it.
Incidently - it has a different stamp (7508) - so I am guessing it is not the one that originally come with the body.
Thanks
Lorraine
 

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I'd put it a bit earlier, 50s, because of the keyguards. Later ones were pressed steel. Can't be prewar, cos Weltklang came out of the amalgamation of the German instrument makers post WWII. Weltklang was a brand of VEB Blechblas- und Signal-Instrumenten-Fabrik (People's enterprise Brass and signal intrument makers) in Markneukirchen, founded in 1953. Serial number lists are hard to find, I've seen references to them, but haven't found one to download/query online.

OK saxes, but not as refined as some later stuff. Weltklang owners in Germany swear by their saxes. Western players tend to dismiss them.

Don't get any heat/hot water on the mouthpiece, it's ebonite aka. hard rubber, and it tends to go green and smelly when it gets hot. This change is not reversible.
 
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Nooooooo - too late:doh::shocked:

I put it in warm soapy water - certainly not hot but there is already a greenish hue to it. It doesn't smell though so maybe it'll be ok for a bit.

Think I'll leave the neck as it is........

It may be OK....

But look on the bright side, if its no good it means you can take your first step into the sinister world of GAS

>:)>:)>:)>:)>:)
Whoa hoa haa haa
Whoa hoa haa haa
Whoa hoa haa haa
Whoa hoa haa haa
 
Nooooooo - too late:doh::shocked:

I put it in warm soapy water - certainly not hot but there is already a greenish hue to it. It doesn't smell though so maybe it'll be ok for a bit.

Think I'll leave the neck as it is........

Hi Lorraine,
Stephens method certainly works, and I recommend it (you just don't know what is lurking in there >:)). Better safe than sorry :w00t:
I also recommend Stephens, Haynes Saxophone Manual, a must for all saxists ;}

John🙂;}
 
certainly not hot but there is already a greenish hue to it. It doesn't smell though so maybe it'll be ok for a bit.
Not one to add to your woes, but the greenish hue is the beginning of the break down of the hard rubber, once it gets to the next stage...the smell followed by the sour taste, its time to chuck it out as it has been said that it's carcinogenic.
 
get some olive oil and wipe it onto the mouthpiece using some paper towel or a cloth, then put the mouthpiece into the fridge for a couple of hours that may help reverse the process somewhat.
 
Congratulations on your Weltklang tenor. I like these saxes and I think they are great blowers and sturdy saxes. Weltklang was ”the official” GDR/DDR sax for a long time. Later on the started to sell the B&S brand which was a little more contemporay when it came to the keydesign and the range was also extended to F#. But as far as I know the bore and taper was the same on the saxes, except for the F# tonehole. The GDR made lots of saxes for other companies (stencils).

Thomas
 
Not one to add to your woes, but the greenish hue is the beginning of the break down of the hard rubber, once it gets to the next stage...the smell followed by the sour taste, its time to chuck it out as it has been said that it's carcinogenic.

This has worried me as I often rinse my Rico Graftonite in lukewarm water - but it's not green and doesn't smell (I'm just a bit of a panicker!) :shocked:
 
I read in the Haynes manual - (from the library after my little cxxk up) that it tends to happen more with older mouthpieces. I got mine from the dealer I got sax from - so may be quite old. HTH Lx

Thanks Lorraine :thumb: if it's any help and you are considering replacing it I would highly recommend Yamaha 4c for starting out with - I used one for several years then moved onto the Rico one - (even cheaper than the Yam4c!)
 
Ladies bleach is the best,
NO NO NO!!! Do not get bleach anywhere near a hard rubber mouthpiece, weather it's in warm or cold water, i had a perfectly good (and worth a few bob as well) Selmer Soloist that i decided to clean with bleach, well i can tell you it turned green, smelled and tasted awful right away.

Best course of action (i guess) would be to clean in cold water and fairy liquid with a bottle brush, followed by a dip in some mouthwash for a clean fresh taste!
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

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